Shellharbour City residents are being called on to help remove graffiti as part of Graffiti Removal Day on Sunday, October 26.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Graffiti Removal Day is a joint initiative between the NSW government and Rotary Down Under.
Shellharbour City Council has thrown its support behind Shellharbour's Rotary members to help on the day.
"Graffiti vandalism is a major problem, which costs local businesses and households, the government and councils millions of dollars each year," Mayor Marianne Saliba said.
"The purpose of the day is to highlight the problem of graffiti vandalism and encourage people to get involved in the removal and prevention of graffiti."
Rotary Club member Patrick Giles said people could help remove graffiti next Sunday at a selected site or by nominating another clean-up site.
People who volunteer to help on the day will be given cleaning material, paint, safety equipment and training on how to safely remove graffiti.
A list of clean-up sites in the Shellharbour, Wollongong and Shoalhaven council areas is available on the website graffitiremovalday.org.au.
A laneway in Warilla, Fitzroy Place at Barrack Heights and Kaylaur Crescent, Albion Park, are among the sites nominated in Shellharbour City.
People can volunteer by completing a form on the website or by registering on the day.
Meanwhile, Attorney-General Brad Hazzard announced that police would have up to two years to catch offenders under changes to graffiti laws.
"Increasingly, offenders are recording their graffiti crimes on smartphones so they can brag to mates or gain notoriety by posting the clip on YouTube," Mr Hazzard said.
"Often these records aren't discovered until some time after the offence has been committed, but existing laws prevent police from charging a vandal with a specific graffiti offence if the incident happened more than six months ago."